Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Puff Paste
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Combine one cupful of ice water with one teaspoonful of salt.
Add one pound of flour.
Add the white of one egg.
Add one pound of butter.
Wash the butter in cold water and knead with a spoon until it becomes waxy; shape into an oblong sheet about an inch thick and set it in a pan of ice water; mix.
Combine salt and flour together.
Rub one-third of the butter into the flour.
Moisten with the egg and ice water. Mix with a knife.
Stir vigorously.
Roll and fold
Dredge the board lightly with flour.
Turn out the paste. Sprinkle lightly with flour.
Roll backward and forward. Turn the paste half way around and roll from you.
When about one-fourth inch thick, wipe the remainder of the butter and lay it on the paste. Sprinkle lightly with flour.
Fold the paste from each side until the edges meet, then fold from the ends.
Pound lightly and roll back and forth two or three times.
Double the paste and roll down to one-half inch thickness.
Fold in thirds and turn half way around. Roll down again.
Repeat this for six times.
Chill and finish
Place on ice to harden for one or two hours before using.
If the paste sticks, place it on ice. When chilled it will roll more easily.
Use as little flour as possible.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Forms flaky layers as it stays solid and separates the dough into thin sheets.
- Flour
- Provides structure, forming the gluten network that holds the dough layers together.
- Ice water
- Keeps the butter cold and limits gluten development, so the dough stays tender.
- Egg
- Adds moisture and binds the dough together.
The step that matters
Keeping the butter and dough cold while rolling and folding. If the butter softens and melts into the dough, the layers blend instead of separating, so the paste loses its flakiness. Chilling firms the butter so it can be rolled out in distinct layers.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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